


mind games

by highqualitynot



Series: highqualitynot's Parkner Week 2019 [5]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: (but in a very overcomplicated way), Getting Together, M/M, does this follow the prompt? like barely, dream walking, morpheus is a douchebag at first but he's nice by the end i promise, secret confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 21:17:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20142130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highqualitynot/pseuds/highqualitynot
Summary: “I’m… I’m in love with you,” Harley told Dream Peter, smiling brightly. “Every part of you. Your smile, your smarts. Spider-Man. All of it.”“Did he just say Spider-Man?” Morpheus asked.Spider-Man shot a web over Morpheus’ mouth, frustrated.Dream Peter gazed up at Harley in awe. “I’m in love with you too, Harley. I’ve been wanting to tell you for so long…”or, Peter's adventures in dream walking with a metallic purple goth boy go awry when they end up in Harley's dreams.---parkner week 2019 day 5 - birthday,secret confessions, hat on backwards





	mind games

**Author's Note:**

> this one barely follows the prompt
> 
> like barely
> 
> i just went nuts here. it m a y b e fits, just kind of. not really. but it's fun so induldge me. 
> 
> i googled lore and created some of my own for this! a little taste of how absolutely fucking insane i go when it comes to lore research. (see my vamp au for more evidence of how much i love writing lore) but then i dont do like. any. other research. it's just lore. thats what gets me. 
> 
> give more compliments to [harp!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aroacewritingplace)
> 
> spotify playlist here~ the lyrics of this song don't fit perfectly, but i like the Vibes it gives off so it works well enough.

Peter hit the warehouse wall head-first and groaned loudly. “Dude, it’s like four in the morning. I have an exam tomorrow. Why are you doin’ this?”

He peeled himself up into a crouching form on the wall, wincing as his head throbbed. 

“KAREN, do I have a concussion?”

“No, you appear fine,” his AI replied.

“This has nothing to do with you, Spider-Man!” The villain hissed. He had on a hideous metallic purple spandex suit which hurt Peter’s eyes to look at. “This is about me, and the woman who should have been mine!”

“Okay, getting into tragic backstory now,” Spidey launched himself across the room, digging through the spare parts, trying to find some sort of indicators towards what the villain was actually trying to do. Aside from totally ruining his sleep schedule. “What happened, bud? I’m practically a therapist for most villains I come across these days anyway.”

“I’m not a villain,” he insisted. “I’m Morpheus. I’m really a nice guy! I’ve been a really patient, nice, good person, being her friend for _months_, and then she off and friendzoned me! I’ll show her! I’ll show everyone in this goddamn city!” 

“Dude, that’s fucked up.”

“Exactly!” Morpheus lit another lavender candle, his circle of them distinct in the center of the room.

“You’re such a dick, holy shit,” Spider-Man said.

“What?”

“What do you mean what? You’re kind of a douchebag.”

“Well, it’s just…” The villain couldn't believe his ears. “You’re Spider-Man. I thought your thing was sarcastic quips. But you’re just straight up swearing at me.”

“You kinda deserve it, bro,” Peter told him. “You had bad intentions from the start. Sounds like she just wants to be your friend and you were a dick about it.”

Morpheus stared at him, completely lost for words. Spider-Man stepped around him.

“Yeah, I’m just gonna go deactivate that big ol’ spell circle thingy now,” Spidey said. He gazed up at the massive clock above the circle, which said 0:03 in angry purple digits and was counting down and oh shit-

\---

Peter forced dizzy eyes open, finding himself on concrete floor. 

Not just any concrete floor. Airplanes and crates surrounded him. A massive, completely abandoned building covered the back half of the lot. 

More than any of that, the violent clashing sounds of battle overwhelmed his enhanced senses.

The airport in Germany.

He could see all the Avengers around him, fighting their civil war again.

“Stop!” Peter wheezed, struggling to stand. His ribs _burned_. “Stop, stop! We got over this! We’re family now!” 

They didn't listen. Cap threw a vicious punch at Rhodey. Tony struggled to detain Bucky. They didn't hear him. They didn't even see him, completely ignoring him in favour of continuing their battle.

Spider-Man struggled to breathe. He fell back to his knees, choking on tears. “No… no, we’re family! Stop fighting… we’re a family…” 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it. 

Hideous metallic purple.

“Morpheus!” He growled, somehow finding the strength to give chase. “What the fuck, man?”

That stupid cape vanished into a glowing purple portal. Spidey hesitated, a few seconds spent gazing into the swirling depths of the (probably deadly) portal.

He threw himself into the portal when he heard the sound of glass shattering nearby. The Avengers were still fighting.

The portal swirled, as strikingly violet as Morpheus’s ugly mask.

“Oh God, this thing is so going to kill me!” Peter yelped, tumbling around through the portal. His eyes desperately searched for any sign of Morpheus. 

His stomach tightened and suddenly Spider-Man was a part of the portal. He could no longer see his feet, his legs, his hands. His eyes closed involuntarily. 

And he stopped feeling.

\---

“Where the fuck am I?” Peter groaned. He blinked the cloudiness out of his vision and spotted Morpheus’ purple cape. 

Morpheus was fiddling with a small piece of rock that had a large rune on it. “Stupid DPS won’t work!” 

“Sir, that is a rock.”

“Spider-Man?” Morpheus stammered. He shook his head, seeming to accept that he was asking for help from the superhero he had just slammed into a wall ten minutes prior. “It’s a DPS. Dream Positioning Stone.”

“Oh, that’s a stupid name,” Peter said.

Morpheus gave him a look. “It's supposed to guide me directly to the dreams of my future girlfriend, but it took me on a trip. We saw you in that fight, which I assume was your dream.”

“More of a nightmare, really.” 

Morpheus paused, seemingly about to say something, but then continued with his explanation. “And now we’re here. Rose Hill, Tennessee?”

The sign was huge, with a charming sort of font to it. All Peter knew about Rose Hill came from Harley, who hated it, and Abbie, who loved it.

“The woman you’re harassing isn't from here, is she?” Spider-Man asked.

“No, she's not. I don't know whose dream this is,” Morpheus confirmed.

“So how does this whole… dream hopping thing work?” Peter said as they made their way into the town. 

“We’re _dream walking_,” Morpheus corrected. “I always had a flair for rare items-”

“Antique RoadShow! Have you been on Antique RoadShow?” 

“What are you, twelve? Shut up and listen,” Morpheus said. 

“Dude, you’re the one running around in other people’s dreams trying to harass a woman who already rejected you,” Peter replied. “Emotionally, _you_ are the twelve year-old.”

Morpheus groaned. “Spider-Man, you are insufferable.”

“Thanks, I know!”

By then, they had found the central square of Rose Hill. Peter had seen the square before in pictures from Harley and Abbie. It was all rectangular stones, a huge fountain, tall street lamps and several park benches. 

“Are you going to keep going with your story?” Spider-Man asked. “I mean, you can't find your way out of here, and I’m stuck with you. We might as well hang out, even though you’re a weird purple misogynist.”

“I like to collect old magicky-looking things,” Morpheus said. “One day I found a book with spells in it. It was all about a demon named Nightmare and his torment-filled Dream Dimension.”

“This doesn't seem very torment-filled,” Spider-Man commented. “Pretty peaceful, actually.” 

“It is quite nice here.” Morpheus paused, shifting in his seat. “Anyway. I found a spell for dream walking and figured it could help me with my… situation.”

“The being-a-douche one?” 

Morpheus flopped down onto a park bench. “I’m not justified in what I’m doing, am I?”

“She’s not entitled to give you anything,” Peter said, crouching down on the bench next to Morpheus. “She never was.” 

Morpheus sighed. “I’m not a nice guy at all.”

“No, not really,” Spider-Man told him. “But you could be.” 

Morpheus turned to look at him. Even though Peter couldn't see his face, he got the distinct sense that Morpheus was a little bit teary.

Before he could reply, Rose Hill began to shake. The street lamps swirled, the benches trembled. 

“Dude, what's happening?” Spider-Man shouted, grabbing hold of the fountain’s edge as the wind tried to peel him off. 

Morpheus clung to the bench desperately. “The dreamer is moving somewhere else!” 

Everything blended together, colours mixing, shaped bending. Peter’s vision swam, unable to understand what was happening. 

The world stopped swirling, then flew into reverse, spinning faster than before. The picture formed when they finished was no longer Rose Hill. It was Central Park. NYC once more.

Spider-Man massaged his temples, head aching. Morpheus was still next to him, leaning against a new park bench like he would fall without it. He probably would.

“That was… unpleasant,” Peter mumbled.

“For the dreamer, it was just a gentle transition.”

“Lucky for them,” Spider-Man said. “Is your weird rock working now?” 

Morpheus pulled it out of his pocket (his suit had pockets? Peter wanted pockets). “It’s looking a little better, but not working too well. We could try finding the dreamer?”

“How would that help?” 

“The portal is nearest to the dreamer,” Morpheus explained. “It was only a few feet away from you during your nightmare. We could end up in another dream, but hopefully the DPS will actually work. Then we could find a way out of here entirely.”

“Huh, okay. How do we find the dreamer?” Spidey asked. 

“I have no idea,” Morpheus confessed. 

“I could swing around the city and look for them?” Peter suggested. 

Swinging in a dream, as it turned out, was very similar to swinging in real life. The main distinguishing factors were the strange lack of a breeze and the metallic purple man clinging to him. 

Spidey took a small break on the top of Stark Tower for a breather. 

“This is a dream,” Morpheus said. “How did you get tired?” 

“Still affects my brain, just not my body, I’d guess,” he said. “Chemicals and stuff. Plus, some extra weight makes it slower.” 

Morpheus laughed at the joke, but abruptly cut off. “I don't think you’re gonna get any more tired.” 

Spidey followed his gaze to the left where a purple portal flickered into existence, right beside the normal door on the roof. “Right. Let’s get out of here.”

He paused as someone crashed through the door. Not just anyone. Harley Keener.

“Oh my God,” Peter whispered, watching as Harley pulled someone else through the door, holding their wrist tenderly. 

It was him! Unmasked, Peter Parker stood on the rooftop, holding Harley’s hand. Three feet away, Spider-Man was hiding behind a chair next to a metallic purple former misogynist. 

“You know them? One of ‘em must be the dreamer…” Morpheus mused. 

Spider-Man shushed him. 

“Peter…” Harley said, raising a hand to rest lightly on Dream Peter’s cheek. “I have to tell you something.”

“Hey, this kinda seems like a private moment, maybe we should just go?” Morpheus whispered. 

“Shut up,” Spidey muttered, already consumed with the need to know what Harley wanted to tell Dream Peter.

Even in a dream, Harley was achingly beautiful. His tanned skin was covered in golden freckles, something Peter had agonized over at least once a day since meeting Harley. 

Harley ran a hand through his hair, almost unconsciously. Freed from its ponytail, it was a messy sort of perfect. 

“I’m… I’m in love with you,” Harley told Dream Peter, smiling brightly. “Every part of you. Your smile, your smarts. Spider-Man. All of it.” 

“Did he just say Spider-Man?” Morpheus asked.

Spider-Man shot a web over Morpheus’ mouth, frustrated. 

Dream Peter gazed up at Harley in awe. “I’m in love with you too, Harley. I’ve been wanting to tell you for so long…” 

If Harley was dreaming this, that meant it was what he wanted. Peter almost cried in a sudden burst of joy, the realization that Harley liked him back nearly too much for his heart. 

Dream Peter and Harley kissed. It was a strange experience, watching himself kiss his crush. The portal began to flicker in the background. 

Spidey pulled his webs off of Morpheus with an apologetic smile that he only later realized Morpheus couldn't see. He cautious led him towards the portal, careful to avoid the eyeline of Harley and Dream Peter even though they both still had their eyes closed.

“Why is it like… flickering?” 

“The dreamer is waking up,” Morpheus said. “We have to go now.” 

“Wait, is your DPS thing even work-”

Spider-Man was cut off as Morpheus yanked his arm through the portal.

The same sensation of his stomach tightening and his limbs evaporating overtook Spider-Man as they flew through the portal.

“It’s working!” Morpheus shouted, holding up the DPS. It was flashing the same hideous purple as his suit. 

Peter clung desperately to his arm, trying and failing in his quest not to shriek like a banshee. 

The swirling purple began to disappear, and the vision at the corners of his eyes started to fade. It was quickly replaced by pitch black.

He tensed, but then couldn't tense any longer. Peter felt nothing.

\---

Peter woke up.

He was laying in the center of the spooky spell circle. Raising his head was a monumental effort, and he searched the room for any sign of Morpheus. 

Morpheus had unmasked himself and sat on the floor. He had a black undercut and deep brown monolid eyes set into the tired face of a college student. Probably only a year or two older than Peter.

He looked haunted, but in much less pain than Spider-Man felt.

“Hey, man,” he wheezed out. “We made it.”

“I need to get rid of this book,” Morpheus said. “And apologize to Piper.”

“Is that the girl?” 

“Yeah, that's her,” he said. “I can't believe I was such an asshole. And she's a pretty great friend, too. I’ve gotta see if she’ll let me try again. As _just_ her friend.”

“The killer headache has to be some kind of punishment,” Peter grumbled. He managed to pull himself into a standing position. 

Light from one of the warehouse windows shone through, making Spidey blink tiredly. 

“Right,” Morpheus said. 

“I need to go,” Peter started.

Morpheus cut him off. “No, no, I get it. Thank you, Spider-Man.”

Pete smiled under the mask. He waved a little goodbye to Morpheus, and swung out to find Harley. 

\---

He found Harley in the kitchen. 

Harley looked about as miserable and in pain as Peter. Maybe even worse. 

He was making an omelet for himself, but he must have felt terrible. Normally, Harley would add in herbs and spices, vegetables, meat, whatever else he could find in the depths of Tony’s fridge. Just egg and cheese was uniquely upsetting.

“Wait, did you sleep here tonight without telling me?” Harley said upon seeing Peter. 

“Nah, just swung in. I was up late reforming a misogynist.” 

“For real? That’s awesome. What happened?”

Peter swallowed. “We kinda went dream walking and had a heart-to-heart? It was intense, and now I feel like shit. Can I have some eggs?”

“You can have your own omelet, because your appetite is _insane_,” Harley said, cracking a few eggs into a mixing bowl. “That is, if you tell me about the dreams.” 

“Sure, okay,” Peter winced. He sat down on a breakfast stool. “Uh, first we were in one of my dreams. Kind of more of a nightmare. Germany, the whole civil war thing. Not that fun.”

“Shit, Peter.” Harley frowned, biting his lip. “I’m sorry I asked.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” he replied. “The dream we went into next was more interesting. Really nice, actually.”

Harley flipped his omelet with a spatula, further evidence that he was in bad shape. “Who was dreamin’ it?”

Peter took a deep breath. He needed to tell Harley about everything he saw, of course. But that didn't mean it wasn't hard.

“You.”

Harley dropped his spatula. “Wha… what did you see?” 

He looked terrified. Peter stood up and walked towards him, pulling one of Harley’s hands into his own. “We were in Rose Hill first. Didn't really see anything there. Then we went to New York. Saw you on Stark Tower. And me, also on Stark Tower, which was honestly super weird-”

Harley made a strangled noise. “Jesus, _fuck_, Peter… Peter, I’m really sorry. I get it if you don't wanna be friends anymore after seeing that whole mess… I’m sorry.” 

His hand shook in Peter’s. Peter let go. Harley’s expression turned miserable, and he made a move to leave before Peter grabbed his wrist and kissed him. 

In a way, it was like being in the portal.

Peter’s stomach tensed tightly. He couldn't really feel his arms anymore, but he knew they were slung around Harley’s neck. 

There was one thing that was completely different from the portal, though.

He didn't stop feeling. 

He started.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr [@high-quality-not](https://high-quality-not.tumblr.com/)
> 
> give [harp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aroacewritingplace) love, give their oc augustus a punch in the face 
> 
> i am relentless about this. the spotify playlist [exists](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Ftf5aR07Ha3KcCtfjUe14) and each song corresponds to a parkner week fic! 
> 
> i accidentally fell in love with morpheus while writing this fic? i intended to have him be a douchebag villain with a greek mythology name but then. i accidentally reformed him. and now i love him. is this why people like goth boys? is this why
> 
> anyway i hope you enjoyed! tomorrow will be more on prompt i swear it.


End file.
